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Best Looking Fruit Trees

jayne10bjayne10b Posts: 105
in Plants
We are currently redesigning part of our garden and would like to put a couple of fruit trees in - maybe grown as standards, or maybe fan trained or as espalliers.  As we like most fruit and are starting from scratch, we can accommodate most things apart from something too big.

My question is, which fruit tree/bush do you think is the 'best looking'/attractive to mix in with other non edible plants to make the backbone of a border or planting scheme?  

TIA

Posts

  • jayne10bjayne10b Posts: 105
    I'm looking to have my cake and eat it!  As we would be happy with any kind of fruit, I thought I would try and find which fruit tree has the best aesthetics and then we could have fruit from a tree that looks good.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Espaliered Concorde pear. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    Hava a search for episode 5 from this year's Gardener's World on iPlayer. It featured West Dean garden which is famous for its trained fruit trees. @chicky is a volunteer there and may be able to add more info.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited October 2020
    Crab apples are very good pollinators for a wide range of apples and Malus ‘John Downie’ is a beautiful crab with traditional blossom white topped with pink, and rosy apples (larger than most crabs) which make the most fantastic jelly. An ideal small orchard tree to grow as a standard or half standard. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    As most untrained fruit trees would need a 6'x6' area at least, a trained apple or pear in espallier could be towards the back of a boarder near a fence, but you would still need a gap to be able to get to it for care and its root area needs to be bare for it to thrive. Thats why most trees are in stand alone orchards. A crab apple can go in a hedgerow, so would maybe cope better with surrounding plants.
  • chickychicky Posts: 10,410
    Both apples and pears look good as espaliers and fans against the wall at West Dean.  Nothing planted around them though, apart from a few spring bulbs.

    Remember you will need a pollinator for both apples and pears, so choose your varieties carefully.  Sites like Ashridge Trees have comprehensive guides to pollination groups etc.
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